Will dentists be a big hit on small screen?

on 12 June 2014

ITV will be going behind the scenes at a leading UK dental hospital next week to show its viewers a different side to dentists.

The makers of the fly on the wall documentary – The Dentists – claim it will show dentistry in a more positive light than the one usually shown in the media. They describe dentists as being at ‘the front line in the battle to save Britain’s smiles’.

The programme was filmed at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester, and will show some of the extraordinary stories that dental professionals come across in treating more than 90,000 people every year.

The north west has some of the highest rates of child tooth decay in the UK, which leads to large numbers of extractions being carried out on under-fives at the hospital. The programme will examine the impact this has on the children and dental professionals alike.

The Dentists will also aim to highlight on the consequences of poor oral hygiene, bad diet, and avoiding dental treatment. Dentophobia will feature heavily, along with the efforts of staff at the hospital to combat it.

A section of the programme will be devoted to the advanced techniques brought to bear in facial reconstruction cases – a process the filmmakers refer to as ‘dentistry meets plastic surgery in the 21st century’.